Just A Little Love
by karazorel
Summary: What if the summer at Lava Springs happened differently because of Troy's personal tragedy? One woman helps him deal with the changes, the other, refuses to acknowledge his pain. Will he finally learn what true love is all about?
1. Chapter 1

**Just A Little Love**

**A High School Musical Fan Fiction **

**By**

**Karazorel**

**Trailer**

**Disclaimer: **_High School Musical and its_c_haracters remain the property of Walt Disney Productions. The story contained herein is meant only for personal enjoyment and no money is being made from the story. No infringement is intended. I offer this fan fiction as a tribute to the creative teams involved in the actual production of the movie series. However, I reserve the right to any original characters I create for the purpose of fan fiction story telling._

It was supposed to be a night of Victory

(Shows East High Basketball Championship Victory)

A night of Celebration (Shows the team eating happily at a pizza parlor)

But what happens when the night takes a violent turn? (South High team enters the restaurant looking mean)

Gunshots are heard.

(Shows Troy in a hospital bed, crying uncontrollably.)

Troy Bolton's life is about to tragically change forever. Only one girl's love can save him from his path of grieving self destruction.

(Sharpay at Lava Springs)

"I don't care what it takes, hire Troy Bolton!"

_Showing next on your computer screens._


	2. A Tragic Celebration

**Disclaimer: **_High School Musical and its_ c_haracters remain the property of Walt Disney Productions. The story contained herein is meant only for personal enjoyment and no money is being made from the story. No infringement is intended. I offer this fan fiction as a tribute to the creative teams involved in the actual production of the movie series. However, I reserve the right to any original characters I create for the purpose of fan fiction story telling._

**Just A Little Love**

**Beta Read By:**

**GimmeABeat**

**Chapter 1: A Tragic Celebration**

A rowdy group of teenage boys, dressed in the familiar East High basketball uniform, were quickly becoming a nuisance at Dion's Pizza. They were accompanied by one haggard looking adult male. Having just come off their latest championship winning season, the team was celebrating their back to back championship under the watchful eye of their coach, Jack Bolton.

"Settle down, guys! We don't want to get thrown out of here! Chad! Get out from behind that bar! Let go of the soda spritzer! Zeke, put down that cobbler! Do you two hear me?!Knock it off!", he barked a them, as the manager began throwing dagger looks in the direction of their group.

It was nearly impossible to control the hyped up team of East High Wildcats. None of them seemed to hear their coach's demands, or else, they were choosing to ignore him. Suddenly, the authoritative voice of a young man, no older than the rest of the youths at the table, broke through the din of the crowded restaurant.

"WILDCATS!" Troy Bolton, waving a pizza spatula in one hand and a half eaten pizza slice in the other, yelled loudly at his teammates. "GET YOUR HEAD IN THE GAME! SIT AND EAT!"

Troy commanded the full respect of his team since he managed to lead them out of their basketball season dry spell. His leadership had turned in win after win until their school actually became high school state champions It was no wonder when the teammates immediately hushed up and settled down to their meal.

The healthy appetite of the team usually ran up the food budget during these occassions. It is no joke trying to keep a team of 15 boisterous young men well fed and happy after a high octane b-ball game. So while some people might think that four ten inch pizzas would be enough to feed this army of ball dribblers, the truth is that, if left to their own ordering devices, the boys would have one tray of pizza each. Instead the boys were ordered to split the flavors, half a tray each.

"And that is why you are team captain." His father beamed proudly as the younger Bolton took full control of an escalating situation.

"You taught me well, Dad." Troy low-fived his father who was sitting to his left at the long table that seated the 15-man team.

"Man! Am I famished!" Chad announced as he dug into his share of the tray he shared with Troy. While his best friend feasted on A Kansas City Pizza, Chad wanted to prove how manly he was by ordering The Duke City pizza, with extra hot jalapenos. His ears felt like they were on fire after 4 bites. Zeke on the other hand, being the gourmet that he was, insisted that his tray partner join him in savoring the mouth watering flavors of The Napoli with extra Prosciutto toppings.

The championship game ended up being their most difficult one to date as the South High team played a dirty game from beginning to end. Their main target was to take out Troy. A task that proved difficult as Troy was not only fast on the ball, but his team moved quickly to protect their star player each time he had the ball. Aside from a few bruised ribs and elbows to their stomach, most of the Wildcats managed to survive the game unscathed.

As was customary for the Wildcats, every win was celebrated with a supervised boy's night out. Each boy was in high spirits and looking forward to going home and soaking in a hot tub after the festivities.

"Are you meeting up with Gabriella tonight?", the coach asked Troy as dessert was finally served. They always ordered a freshly baked cookie assortment tray of Chocolate Chip, Oatmeal Raisin, and Peanut Butter to top off their meal.

"Not tonight, Dad. The decathlon team has an out-of-town meet tomorrow. She's spending the night at Taylor's so they can catch up with some last minute preparations", Troy explained as a group of boys wearing South High team hoodies walked into the restaurant.

The group eyed the Wildcats threateningly as they walked past their table. Troy recognized them immediately. They were the second-string players or the bench warmers of the South High basketball team. A few minutes later, the main team arrived as well.

"This can't be good", Coach Bolton whispered to Troy. " We better get everybody out of here as soon as we can."

"Waitress, can we have the check please?", was Troy's way of agreeing with his father's suggestion.

****

"Where is that bus?" Coach Bolton was visibly worried as he frantically scanned the parking lot. "Troy, get on your phone and tell the driver to get here now." There was a sense of urgency in his voice as he saw the South High squad spill into the parking lot.

The opposing group immediately formed a circle around the East High squad, blocking them in from possibly getting on the bus even if it arrived. The smell of alcohol reeked from most of the boys while the others had the glassy look that most people high on drugs usually had. Whatever they had planned, Coach Bolton knew it was not going to be anything good.

Troy tried to calmly address the boy whom he knew to be the team captain. "Justin, guys, it's just a game. Don't take it so seriously." Troy threw a nervous look down Chad's way. Chad had his eyebrows drawn together and Troy knew his short tempered friend was just looking for a signal to start a brawl.

"We would have won the game if you guys didn't rig it!", the other team captain bellowed at him. Those who were with him seemed to tighten their ring around the Wildcats. "We don't know what you guys did to the electrical system, but we sure as hell will prove you guys cheated to win this championship! There isn't a high school in the state that doesn't know you guys cheated to win against the Condors during the playoffs!"

"We won that game fair and square Justin!" Troy angrily defended his team.

"The scoreboard had to be reset so you could go play tenor with some wanna be stage actress!" Justin continued his verbal attack based upon the story that a certain old rich, spoiled, blonde woman had spread across town after losing the lead role to Gabriella.

"We had nothing to do with the power outtage tonight! You very well know that it was force majeur! " A fifteen minute long power outtage during the nights game caused a timer delay while the maintenance team of West High, who were playing on home court, started up the back up generator power.

The reality of the situation was that The Wildcats were behind by ten points towards the last quarter of the game. The tripping of the Albaquerque power grid allowed the team to take a breather and come from behind to win the game.

Pocket knives and knuckle rings began to appear in the hands of the hooligans. Troy did not even realize that he and his teammates were backing into each other until he hit somebody from behind. Looking back, he saw his father's familiar gray colored coat.

"Dad?" The fear in his voice betrayed the coolness he was trying to project.

"I'm here son. Don't worry. Keep the team under control. You know what to do." He reassured the boy as best as he could.

"Don't let a fight erupt!", Troy ordered his squad. No, he was not going to let this joyful night end with a visit to the local jail.

"You won't, but we will!" With that a nunchuck came out of nowhere and hit Troy square on the chest. He keeled over, clutching the area where the wooden weapon hit him. The pain was so severe that he was having trouble breathing.

"Son of a bitch!", he heard Chad cry out.

"No, Chad! Don't!" Troy thought he had shouted but what really came out was just a whisper. He could only watch as Chad charged forward and threw a punch into the face of the South High player closest to him.

With that signal, all hell began to break loose. Coach Bolton tried his best to peel his players off the others while dialing 911 on his phone. He had a close call with a pocket knife that came dangerously close to his face when he got between Zeke and another boy. Then, he felt a jaw crushing left hook from a knuckle ring cross his face. He knew that his jaw had been dislocated by the punch, but chose not to worry about it, worryinginstead about keeping his boys safe from harm.

Troy was now a bit recovered and was trying to do the same as his father. The father and son team seemed to be failing in all their efforts as blood began to show up on the jerseys of boys from both teams. How exactly does one stop a fight between a pack of wild dogs?

The attack came from behind. Troy was so concentrated on stopping the fight that he did not notice two burly figures sneak up behind him. Grabbing him brusquely by the arms, they dragged him off to a less crowded corner of the lot where Justin beat him up while the other two held him still.

"Dad! Help me!", he cried out as he felt his rib cage touch his beating heart. Troy's vision was cloudy now. He could not make sense of the noise around him. The movements he was seeing seemed to be a blur of nonsensical activity.

"Trooooy! I'm cooooooming sooooooon!" His father's voice seemed to echo in slow motion towards him.

One of the thugs took advantage of Coach Bolton's distraction and stood directly in his path as he hurried to his son's side. Sticking the cold edge of the pocket knife directly into his kidney area then pulling it out and walking away as if nothing happened.

"Troy! Hang on son! ", Jack felt something ooze out of the side of his shirt. It felt warm and sticky to the touch. He knew that he was badly injured. But nothing was going to stop Jack Bolton from helping his son in his time of need. He continued to go forth, running on pure adrenalin alone.

From out of nowhere, three shots rang through the already noisy night stopped instantly, trying to discover the source of the gunfire.

"Let's get out of here!", the South High team captain barked. The team scampered and scattered out of the parking lot a dozen different directions, disappearing into the cold, sinister night.

As the team of Wildcats stood or slumped where they where, injured and well beaten, Troy crawled towards the last place where he saw his father standing.

"Oh God! No! No! No!", Troy cried out. "Somebody call an ambulance quick! It's my dad!"

The three stray bullets had found its target.

**(A/N: I know this is awfully short for a first chapter but the next chapter will deal heavily on the changes in Troy's life stemming from this event so I needed to end this particular chapter here. I will really appreciate the R&R's !)**


	3. Altered Lives

**Chapter 2: Altered Lives**

Troy slipped in and out of consciousness that night. He remembered events in his mind like a movie trailer. Seeing his father being loaded unto an ambulance, the sound of the siren as it drove away, then his own ambulance ride before he passed out during the speedy ride to the University of New Mexico Hospital ER. He remebered that he was beside his dad.. that the doctors were making a fuss over his father...

"This is no good. He has lost too much blood. Get me an OR!" he heard the doctor give the order. "We've got a bullet in the neck. I can't pull it out this way!"

"No! Dad! I need to be with him!" Troy tried to move but he was subdued by the male nurses. He rememebered throwing up blood when he finally lay back in his own ER bed.

"Lie still! You may have a punctured lung." the doctor on his case warned as Troy began gasping for breath. "Set up the oxygen."

Then his mother's inconsolable voice. "Jack! Don't you die on me Jack!"

"Dad! Mom! What's happening? What's going on?" A male nurse appeared by his side with a syringe.

"This will calm you down." He disinfected a part of Troy's upper arm before sticking the needle in.

"No! I don't want to go to sleep!" Troy tried to break free of the nurse's hold.

"Stop it! You'll break the needle!"

Troy's world went dark within a few moments.

"Sharpay! Wake up! Wake up sis!" Ryan stormed into his older sister's room and rudely awakened the princess of the Evans household.

A glossy pink pillow found its way towards Ryan's head. By instinct he ducked and the pillow landed with a thud on top of Boi, Sharpay's sleeping Chihuaha. The dog whimpered and then turned over in its sleep, pushing the pillow beneath him in the process.

"Shar, c'mon you have to wake up. You have to hear this. " he pulled the covers off the sleeping young woman. Revealing that she was wearing a pink silk nightie.

"Go away Ryan!" she mumbled. Trying hard to ignore her twin brother's presence.

"Shar! Troy alert!" he blurted out the two words that he knew would finally wake her up.

"Well why didn't you say so int he first place!" Sharpay bolted upright in bed. "Don't just stand there. Speak!" she commanded.

"There was a riot. The Wildcat's got involved. Troy and Coach Bolton tried to stop the fight but they were hurt..."

Sharpay had heard enough. She knew the kinds of riots that could erupt after basketball games. She could not believe what she was hearing.

"Oh my god! Not Troy!" she jumped out of bed and pulled on some clothes. "Don't just stand there Ryan. Go get the car!"

"Shar..."

"Don't even say it Ryan. Don't. I need to be with him!"

"We can't be of any use there!"

"Which hospital Ry?" Sharpay was not going to force him to go with her if he did not want to. She could drive the pink Porsche herself.

"Shar... don't go."

"Ryan Evans, you do not barge into my room in the middle of the night, announce a Troy emergency and expect me to go back to sleep!"

"But Shar, you are not family!"

Sharpay knew that. But she had loved Troy Bolton ever since they were paired up as seat mates in the first grade. Why her parents insisted on sending them to public school even though they were one of the richest families in New Mexico was beyond her comprehension but she appreciated it if only for bringing Troy into her life. With her old family clout, she was absolutely sure that she could get into the hospital to see him, rules be damned.

"University of New Mexico. But Shar..."

"Now that wasn't so hard was it? Wait, are mom and dad on the board of directors? Or did we donate a wing to that hospital?" she scrunched her brows together in deep thought.

"Both." Ryan replied as he helped her into her pink leather jacket. "Shar it gets worse."

She grabbed her car keys from the dresser top and headed out the door. "Don't just stand there. Keep talking!"

Getting into the car against his better judgement, Ryan went along just to make sure that Sharpay would not make a scene at the hospital by throwing her weight around like she always did in order to get her way.

"Coach Bolton got shot. He is in serious condition. Troy has broken ribs and other injuries." he continued as the car sped out of the driveway.

"Troy... Troy.. you can't..." Sharpay wiped away the tears as she tried to control her steering.

Jack Bolton lay on the operating room table attatched to various machines that helped keep him alive while the surgeons worked their medical magic. They repaired what they could of the damage inflicted upon the fit man's body but where hindered by the damage to his spinal cord. For all the medical science and technology in their hands, nothing they knew or learned about in school would allow them to remove the bullet from where it lay lodged in his back. Yes, Jack Bolton would live. No, he would never live the same way again.

Lisa Bolton sat alone and afraid in the waiting room. Her son had just wheeled into his own room but would not be able to receive visitors until the next afternoon. Her husband had been in the operating room for over two hours now and nobody had given her any updates yet. It did not matter whom she asked as they came out of the OR, it was almost as if they could not bring themselves to tell her what was going on.

Anybody who knew Sharpay would attest to how spoiled and self-centered she was. Sharpay Evans never thought about anyone or anything aside from herself. In fact there was a belief that if she did not need her brother for her spying needs, she would not pay any mind to him either. All of that may be true to an extent, but never applied to her feelings for Troy and the rest of the Boltons. For she loved Troy and everything and anyone connected with his being.

Which is why it pained Sharpay to see his mom, sitting alone and looking both worried and defeated at the same time in the waiting room by the OR. Glancing quickly around the room, the brother and sister wondered why no one else from the school was there. Considering that Ryan got wind of what had happened from a group text message sent out to all the students of East Side High.

"Mrs. Bolton?" Sharpay asked uncertainly.

The woman looked up. Her face all red and her nose dripping from all the crying she had been doing.

"Sharpay! Ryan! Thank you so much for coming." she threw her arms around the siblings in gratitude. She no longer felt so alone.

"How is everything?" the young woman honestly wanted to know. Ryan sat beside them, listening intently.

"I haven't heard anything yet. Troy is already in his room but I can't see him till tomorrow. Jack has been in there for over two hours now." Mrs. Bolton signalled towards the operating room.

"I can fix that." Sharpay stood up and walked over to the nearby nurse's station.

"Are you the nurse in charge?" she asked the Asian looking woman who sat behind the counter reading the latest Glamour magazine.

"Who wants to know?" the nurse asked as she lazily leafed through the magazine.

"Sharpay Evans." Sharpay placed an extra emphasis on her last name.

Realizing who was standing before her, the nurse almost fell out of her chair as she stood up to make sure that the girl whose family donated the Evans Trauma Center wing of the hospital, where they were currently standing, would get the attention she deserved.

"That's more like it." Sharpay snapped at the nurse.

Ryan rolled his eyes as he heard his sister speak to the nurse. He chose to stay by Mrs. Bolton's side and just hold her hand.

Within moments the nurse was on the phone directly connected to the operating room. She passed the phone to Sharpay who demanded an update from the surgeon in charge.

"Thank you doctor." they heard Sharpay say. The turning and click of her heels on the marble flooring seemed to fill the silent room.

"Coach is alright. Everything is going well." she lied to the people who were waiting for her every word.

The truth was that Coach Bolton was in a much worser shape than they first thought. The bullet had lodged in his neck and the doctors were working against time to stop his bleeding and prevent paralysis. They weren't really sure of how successful their operation would be.

Sharpay was not going to be harbinger of bad news. She was not going to make an already bad situation even worse by telling Mrs. Bolton that her husband might not be able to move ever again. For once she was not going to be the bad guy. Not in Troy's family.

"Mrs. Bolton, we came as soon as we got the text. How is Troy?" Gabriella Montez was running down the hallway with Taylor McKessie, completely oblivious to the fact that her boyfriend's mother was greiving and possibly not in the mood to talk. "What are you doing here?" she shot Sharpay a dagger look upon seeing the Evans twins sitting next to Mrs. Bolton.

"We were just leaving." Sharpay nudged the now sleeping Ryan to get up so they could leave. There was no sense in her staying now that Gabriella was there.

Mrs. Bolton grabbed Sharpay's hand as she made her exit. "Thank you for coming. I really appreciate it. Please come back."

"I will Mrs. Bolton. I will." Sharpay already knew that Mrs. Bolton would need help, the kind of help that only the Evans family could give and she would make sure they go it.

At that very moment, the surgeon stepped out of the OR and asked to speak to Mrs. Bolton. The twins heard sobbing as they closed the door behind them.

**3 Days Later**

Coach Bolton was beginning to stir to consciousness. His eyes fluttered open as he tried to move his arms but could not. When he tried to move his legs unsuccessfully, he knew that something was wrong.

"Lisa!" he shouted in a panic for his wife.

Troy was in a well appointed suite in the hospital upon the insistence of Sharpay. She wanted to make sure that the Bolton family would have a comfortable stay at the hospital and worked on her parents to allow them the expensive room at a hugely discounted rate. He was recovering well. Aside from a collapsed lung and injuries to his chest and ribs, he was expected to make a full recovery. He lay in his bed looking angry and not wanting to be bothered. Gabriela was visiting him at the time and she was feeling more and more frustrated as the visit passed.

"Talk to me Troy." she begged him. He had barely said a word to her during the past half hour after he said "Hi." when she entered the room.

"Go home Gabriela." he told her as he closed his eyes. "Go home."

"But Troy..."

"You heard me! Get out of here!" he screamed at her for the first time in their whole relationship.

Feeling a lump in her throat, Gabriela took her purse and walked straight for the door. She was angry at Troy. She had done nothing to deserve to be shouted at. Mrs. Bolton was entering the room at the same time.

"Gabriela?"

Shooting Mrs. Bolton a hurt look, she just walked away with tears beginning to billow from her eyes.

"Troy, what happened?" she asked her son as she tried to straighten up his sheets.

"It's just that...nobody wants to tell me anything about dad." the frustration in his voice was translated in his fists thumping on his bed.

"He's in the ICU." she explained. "Everything will be fine Troy." she tried to make herself believe it more than anything else. Jack Bolton was never going to be fine again.

Just then the phone rang. "Mrs. Bolton here. He's what? I'll be right over." Turning to her son, she said "Your father is awake."

"Awake? Was he in a coma? What happened mom? I can't remember anything!"

"I'll explain everything to you when I get back. I promise son." she gathered her things and left hurriedly.

"Lisa, I can't move my arms!" Jack cried the minute he saw her walk into the room. "The doctors don't want to tell me anything!"

Lisa already knew what was wrong with her husband. The doctors had warned her that the paralysis will only be confirmed once he woke up.

"Mr. Bolton, I am Dr. Chase. I was the surgeon on your case." A doctor dressed in scrubs introduced himself as he entered the room.

"Can you tell me what is going on?"

The doctor glanced at Lisa. Seemingly seeking approval. She nodded and took her husbands hand as she sat on the bed beside him.

"Mr. Bolton, please try to understand. We did our best to save your life. But we could not do anything about the nerve damage to your Brachial Plexus caused by the bullet. "

Jack now feared the worst. "What are you trying to tell me doctor." He braced himself for what he knew was coming.

"The gunshot wound lodged in your neck and crushed the nerves in that area of your body. although we were able to get the bullet out, we could not repair the lesions it caused. You are one very lucky man."

"Lucky? I can't move my arms or my legs and you call me lucky???" Mr. Bolton threw Dr. Chase an incredulous stare.

"You are alive Mr. Bolton."

"But paralysed!"

"Mr. Bolton, most quadriplegics go on to live full and long lives." The doctor tried to make light of a situation that he knew had no upside to it.

Looking over to his wife, he saw the sadness in her eyes. "You knew! You knew all along!" he accused her.

"Jack..."

"Save it. I don't want to see you or talk to you right now." he turned his head away from her since that was the only moving part of his body.

Lisa turned away and sobbed silently. The pressure of the mounting bills and reality that her husband was now completely paralysed were beginning to fall squarely on her own shoulder. She needed help. But Troy was too young. He should not have to deal with these harsh realities.

She watched as her son slept silently in his bed. Tousling his honey brown hair, she hoped that he would be receptive to their current situation and be able to help her sort out the new reality of their lives. If that would be possible at all. Outside the nurse's station phone rang.

"Fourth floor ICU and Suite Nurse's Station." said the Korean nurse who answered the phone.

"This is Sharpay Evans. I want an update on Jack and Troy Bolton's situation."

"One moment please Ms. Evans. Let me get their files for you." Sharpay had made sure that she would have the clearance to get an update on the Bolton men. Just in case...


	4. An Angel Named Sharpay

**An Angel Name Sharpay**

Lisa Bolton dozed off on the couch in Troy's room while her son also slept. They had been in the hospital for almost a month now and her son was going to be discharged in a few days. His ribs and lungs were now healing and completing his medication outside of the hospital was all that would be needed to make sure he made a speedy recovery. But her husband was not as lucky. While Troy was looking forward to recuperating at home and having his friends around him to help ease the pain of his traumatic experience, his father would have to stay in the hospital for a full month for physical therapy and psychological assessments in order to help him deal with his current situation. This was not going to be an easy summer for their family.

Rudely awakened by the ringing phone, she bolted upright and grabbed the receiver as her son stirred in his slumber. Lack of sleep and the stress of the situation sent a sharp stabbing pain straight to her temples. She pressed down on the sides of her forehead while answering the call. She had been trying her best to balance her job as a real estate agent with taking care of her family now that they needed her the most. Unfortunately, it was coming at the expense of her personal rest time. Lisa had been without sleep since the ordeal started.

"Hello?"

"This is the accounting office, we need you to come down and settle some bills Mrs. Bolton." the authoritative voice of a man ordered.

Jack's operation had used up his insurance and it was already eating away at his dependents insurance on her plan. The time for them to start paying for the medical expenses from out of their own pockets was fast drawing near. This phone call was just a reminder of that.

"Oh. alright. Let me get straightened up and I will be down as soon as I you need my insurance card? Oh, my checkbook... right..." she tried to shake the nervousness out of her voice. She quickly glanced at Troy as she picked up her purse. He turned over in the opposite direction pretending to be in deep slumber. She smiled and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek as she headed out the door.

Sharpay was clearing out her locker for the summer. The cubice was filled with so many pink frilly custom made school supplies that there was no mitaking the wealth of the owner. Her's was a far cry from the simple and down to earth locker of her twin brother.

" I will have to talk to our principal about giving me another locker next year. This is simply too small." Sharpay complained as she continued to fill Ryan's arms with her things. She dumped her cellular phone precariously on the edge of her obviously never opened Chemistry book.

"Shar, you already have 2 adjacent lockers. what will you need a third one for? Besides, doesn't that locker belong to Gabriela?" He caught the pink Samsung Omnia Pro cellular phone with his shoe and balanced it. He would be skinned alive if the phone hit the floor.

"And your point is?" sha slammed the locker shut and placed a thumb on the biometric padlock before turning and walking away.

Giving chase while trying to balance his sister's things, Ryan almost hit the floor a few times before catching up with her at the pink cutom made Corvette with the Evans vanity plate.

"Don't you think Gabriela will need it? I mean some of the students are already 2 to a locker." Trying to make his sister see reason was harder than giving an oral report in History class but he had to give it a try. Afterall, he never had a problem with Troy's girlfriend.

He placed the rest of her things in the already crowded car and then tried to clear a space for himself to sit in the front seat.

"Then she'll enjoy bunking with Kelsie or somebody else from loserville." The engine roared to life and Ryan dropped on top of Boi, Sharpay's designer dog who let out a loud yelp at his heavy seater made contact.

"Stop clowning around Ry! I need to get you home before I go visit Troy!" She barked at her put upon brother who had a helpless look on his face as the dog scratched away at his chest while he tried to calm it down.

Lisa sat staring at the latest breakdown of her husband's medical needs. Where would she get another $10 thousand to cover it? Her insurance already told her they would not cover the physical therapy for a dependent.

"we need the additional payment within 24 hours Mrs. Bolton. Otherwise we will have to move your husband and son to county general" The Asian man seating on the other end of the desk looked like he was in no mood for excuses. He was a cold and calculating man who had a reputation for throwing patients out faster than it took to check them in.

"I need more time..." Lisa's voice was cracking with emotion. When had her family become so destitute? What could she do about it? The tears just came out of nowhere.

The accountant, whose name was Mr. Daños, pulled a Kleenex box out of his desk drawer and offered it to the weeping woman. Almost every person who came into his office was a crier. In his opinion, they should have gone to county gen in the first place.

"You have 24 hours." He repeated and then waved her out of the room. He picked up a document and pretended to immerse himself in it to avoid hearing any pleas of pity.

The private elevator opened into the special hallway designed for the Evans family use. Sharpay stepped out onto plush red carpeting while an assistant reached for her bag and dog. Sharpay was the only other person aside from her mother who was allowed to bring pets into the hospital. Boi was quickly ushered into his special waiting room to feast on gourmet dog delights while waiting for his master.

"Update." Sharpay ordered the man standing beside the assistant who had just taken Boi. "How are the Bolton's doing?"

Leafing through Jack Bolton's chart, he had a look on her face that told Sharpay how bad the situation for the family was becoming. "There's nothing we can do except Mr. Bolton to community general."

"He won't get better in that rat infested excuse for a hospital. You are not moving him Mr. Danos." Sharpay had an insistent tone in her voice as she took her seat in her plush seat.

"We run a business, not a charity institution Ms. Evans! I already gav ehis wife the necessary warning this morning."

"I am telling you not to do it. Don't forget who you are talking to." she warned him as she sat up in her seat.

Mr. Danos smiled condescendingly upon her. "I know who you are Ms. Evans. But you are not your father nor your mother and only they can sign off on such an order." he turned and headed for the door. "You don't have any influence here."

"We'll see about that!" Sharpay screamed at him as the door closed. Her breathing was heavy with anger. Never before had she had somebody on their payroll disobey her direct order. She was Sharpay Evans, she always got what she wanted and her parents had never had to sign off on anything.

Finally composing herself and controlling her emotions, she decided that she was ready to pay the Bolton family a visit. She hoped that Troy would be awake this time. He seemed to spend most of his time sleeping. Or at least he pretended to. He could not fool her, she knew sleep acting when she saw it.

Troy and his mother were discussing their financial situation while he had his lunch. Propped up in his hospital bed, he felt a vein near his temple start to throb as his head filled with their money woes. He needed to get out of the hospital and help his mother pay the bills.

"The community hospital isn't equipped to handle his rehabilitation therapy. It would be like resigning him to his fate." Lisa's voice cracked as she explained things to her only son. Knowing very well that he could do very little to help if at all. She just needed to vent somehow.

"Mom, what about taking a mortgage on the house?" he hopefully suggested as his put the last bite of chocolate pudding into his mouth.

"We already have 2 mortgages Troy. I don't think we can get approved for a 3rd."

"We have to try something mom. We can't let dad end up in community gen. I'll look for a job as soon as I get out of here. I am sure I can find something." he tried to sound convincing even though he knew that with the economy the way it was, even a summer job for a high school student would be hard to come by. Even adults were lining up for the part time jobs these days.

There was a quick rap on the door as it opened. Behind it stood the person Troy held responsible for his family's current situation, his former best friend Chad. The young man's head was the first to appear from the other side of the door.

"Hey buddy!" Chad greeted Troy with a smile on his face as he entered the room.

Just hearing his voice made Troy's blood boil in anger. He picked up the half eaten from food tray and hurled it towards the door.

"Get the hell out of here! I never wanna see your damn face again!" Troy's emotions were uncontrollably spilling out at this point.

Lisa sat next to her son in shock. Troy had never had a violent bone in his body. Their situation was changing her sensitive and caring son.

"We can visit outside." She quickly stood up and directed the obviously shaken Chad out of the room.

"I never meant for any of these things to happen Mrs. Bolton." the movement if Chad's Adams Apple told her he was trying to rein in his emotions.

"I know Chad. I know. But Troy just isn't ready to listen to anybody right now. Give him some time. You are his best friend. He will come around, you'll see." she put a comforting arm around him while they sat on the hard plastic bench in the lobby. "Go home. I'll call you when he is ready to see you." she assured him.

"Tell him I'm sorry Mrs. Bolton. Please?"

"He knows Chad."She smiled at this young man whom she considered her second son.

Finally returning to her son's room, she hears his laughter. Something he has not done since the night of the shooting.

"Gabriela must be visiting." she told herself as she opened the door to let herself in. "Sharpay?"

Troy was alone when Sharpay arrived to visit him. He had his good arm covering his eyes and she thought he was asleep until she came closer and saw tears coming from the sides of his closed eyes.

"Troy." she called his name gingerly, not sure of the reception she was to expect.

He recognized the female voice. It wasn't Gabriela. He had had enough of Gabriela's theatre and decathlon friends, and Troy's basketball buddies for now. He needed a change. Sharpay, in all her self centeredness might be the person he could turn to right now. Could he?

"Troy, are you alright?" the care in Sharpay's voice told him she was truly concerned about him at that moment. But he could not bring himself to open his eyes for her. He sensed her starting to pull away from his bed. He reached out with his bad arm and held on to her wrist.

"Don't go Sharpay." his voice was quiet as he uncovered his face and clumsily pulled himself into a sitting position. She sat next to him on the bed.

"I'm here Troy. I am not going anywhere." she hugged him as he pulled her into an embrace.

"What am I going to do Sharpay?" he cried into her shoulder as she rubbed his back and let him cry.

He finally had stopped crying long enough for Sharpay to crack one of her theatre jokes at him.

"I see a smile starting to crack." she kidded him as he reacted to her joke. He sudenly straightened his face.

"It's okay to laugh Troy. It's alright." she put a hand under his chin and pulled his face up to look at her as he slowly began to look down. God how she wanted to kiss those lips. they faces were so close to each other...

"Snap out of it Sharpay!" she reminded herself silently. "He's hurt, don't take advantage of him."

She quickly reached for the tv remote control and flicked it on. "Maybe we can find something to take your mind off things."

They finally found a classic cartoon show to watch and she settled on the chair beside him to watch. She noticed that he never let go of her hand. Not that she minded it at all.

"Mom! Sharpay came over to visit." Troy said as he tried to stifle a laugh at the House of Mickey cartoon on tv.

"Hello dear." she greeted the happily smiling blonde. She wondered why Tory was entertaining Sharpay. From experience, Lisa knew that Troy always ran in the opposite direction whenever Sharpay was anywhere near his vicinity. This was a first for was not just about to complain about who her son had chosen to let into his room since he seemed to have shut out all his regular friends. Even Gabriela had not been able to reach out to him lately.

"I was just leaving Mrs. Bolton." Sharpay stood up and gathered her stuff. Her hand felt cold as it slipped out of Troy's grasp.

"Sharpay.." Troy called out as she turned away from him. "Come visit me anytime ok?"

She threw her sweetest smile at him. Was this really happening? Or was she dreaming? Troy Bolton was actually asking her to visit him again!

"Might I have a word with you outside Mrs. Bolton?" she prodded his mother to join her.

Safely away from Troy's ears Sharpay spoke to Mrs. Bolton. "I know the situation Mrs. Bolton and I promise you, I will do everything I can to help you guys."

"Sharpay... I don't know what, how, I feel so alone and hopeless." she finally broke into tears as young woman touched her raw nerve.

"The Evans name carries some weight here. I will ask my dad how we can help." she assured the woman while she whipped out her check book. "In the meantime, I hope this helps."

A check for $10,000! There was no way Lisa was going to accept that from Sharpay.

"We are not a charity Sharpay." she tried to return the check but Sharpay was more insistent.

"It's not a hand out. Consider it a loan that you don't have to worry about paying for. Please take it, I know it can help." she begged Mrs. Bolton, stuffing the check into the woman's palm again.

Lisa did not know what to say or how to react. They certainly needed the money, but Troy and Jack would go through the roof if they ever found out.

"Well, I don't plan on telling them. Are you?" Sharpay asked.

Lisa looked at the young woman standing before her. Surely this was not the same Sharpay Evans that all the Wildcats hated for being a conniving, spoiled, bitch.

"I'm not doing this because of Troy." Sharpay explained. "I am doing it because it is the right thing to do. You need help and I can give it. That is what being helpful is all about right?"

After taking the check directly to the Billing Department, she returned to her son's room feeling a bit relieved.

"Why are you smiling mom?" Troy asked as she settled into the cot in the corner of the room to rest.

"Because son, I just met an angel."


	5. At The Beginning

**Chapter 4: ****At The Beginning**

2 weeks after returning home, Troy was slowly returning to what he believed to be a semblance of a normal life. With his father still confined and money becoming tighter than ever for them, it pained him to see his mother trying to juggle everything that she used to have his father helping her deal with. She had just told him about her intention of applying for a second job and the need to cut back on some of their wants and needs in order to make the next mortgage payment on the house. He felt like his head was going to explode from everything that was going on around him. Much as he wanted to help his mother, he was just a high school kid. How was he going to do that? He thought of heading down to the local Squeak Soda Shop and seeing if there were any openings but his mother would not hear of it. Something about him needing more time to heal and get over the trauma that he just had. Much as his mother had the best of intentions, all Troy saw was his mother treating him like a baby.

"You've got only 2 months till school starts son. You don't need to add the stress of working to your healing time. Let me worry about the finances." Lisa tried to explain as they were having dinner one night. "It's my responsibility as your parent."

"Be reasonable mom. You know you can't work 2 jobs and keep the household too. Let me help. I can help. I can work a few hours every day, that will still help us. " he insisted. "If dad were here, he would allow me to work."

"Your dad will be home next week and I will need your help in keeping him comfortable while he gets used to using his chair around the house." she explained matter of factly. "That is what you can help me with."

"Mom!"

"Troy! End of discussion! Pass me the salad."

"Sharpay! In my office now!" the booming voice of Mr. Evans reverberated over all of the intercom speakers in the mansion. He had was currently holding the check his daughter had issued to the hospital. The accounting department recognized her name when they were about to deposit the check and immediately flagged it, returning the check to her father for verification.

"Oh Sharpy,what did you do this time?" Ryan sing-song asked his sister from under the chocolate face masks they were enjoying in their private home spa.

"Whatever it is, you know daddy will forgive me in an instant." she replied nonchalantly as her hand reached for the nearby intercom.

"Daddykins, I'm having a facial." she cooed when into the other end.

"Wipe it off and get down here young lady!" he ordered.

She sighed as she put the phone down. "Looks like I'll have to use the puppy dog 's go Boi !"

"Why did you issue a check for ten thousand dollars to the hospital?" her father asked her as she continued to wipe off the facial mask with tissues that Boi was ripping apart at her feet.

"Dad, it was for a very good cause." she assured him. "A destitute classmate of mine needed the help. You said we have to practice charity since we have so much..."

"Not ten thousand dollars worth my dear." he tried to control the exasperation in his voice. Sharpay always needed to be reminded of her financial limitations it seemed. If he did not try to control her, he could swear that she would spend her trust fund in a months time.

"Dad, it's no big deal. It was for Jack Bolton." she hoped saying the name of the school coach would soften the effect of her latest fiasco.

"The Wild Cats coach? I heard he got into some sort of trouble."

"He's in really bad shape dad. They really needed my help." she saw a chink in her father's armour and went for it. He was a big basketball fan and a huge donator to the Wild Cats.

"He's not a very wealthy man. In fact the house he lives in is mortgaged twice over to our bank." he seemed to be recalling the history of the man who was Troy Bolton's father. After a moment of silence and staring at the check, he looked up at his daughter who was seated across from him at his table. "You are growing up Sharpay. I am proud of you. Let me sort this out with the hospital. This check is good."

"Thanks dad. By the way, speaking of the hospital...' she began telling her father all about Mr. Danos, who was out of a job by the end of the day for not taking Sharpay's word for it.

"We may not be running a charity, but we are a hospital with a heart. Mr. Danos has no place in our medical facility. " her father reminded her.

"Troy, Gabriella's here!" his mother's voice piereced his slumbering state. He seemed to spend most of his time either sleeping or eating these days. He had not left the house nor seen his friends since he got back over a week ago. Gabriella had been trying to contact him by telephone, text, email, skype, facebook, twitter... without any results. Nobody from their circle could seem to reach him. In effect, Troy Bolton seemed to have disappeared from their lives.

He turned over in bed and threw his blanket over his head. He had no intention of going down to see his girl. Lately he wasn't sure about what he was feeling for her anymore. Things seemed to have changed after the incident and he just wanted to tune out the people whom he felt contributed to the situation his family was in now. Even if it meant losing all of his friends. Troy was a very angry young man right now and the last thing he needed was to see the reminder of what started all of these events. That meant Gabriella.

"You better go up and see him." his mother prodded after not hearing a peep out of Troy. "He's been resting a lot. You know, his injuries..."

"You don't have to explain Mrs. Bolton. What Troy is going though, it isn't easy for any of us. We just want to know what's going on. We are here for him even if he doesn't want to acknowldge it." Gabriela clasped her hand over Mrs. Bolton's as she headed up the stairs.

He heard her footsteps and immediately jumped out of bed. He swore like a sailor under his breath as he strained to open his bedroom window then hoist himself out of it so he could escape into the treehouse just outside his window. he had pulled the window shut just as Gabriela opened the door.

"Troy?" she called out. The bed was in such a disarray that she knew he had been or was still in the room. Her lip quivered as she held back her tears from having her boyfriend constantly rejecting her these days. The rustling of the leaves called her attention to the treehouse. Troy was standing at it's window, staring into nothingness. His facial features hardened by the emotions he was fighting inside. Gabriela turned and walked away. Now was not the time. There was no way she would be able to reach him in the emotional state he was in.

"He's not here Mrs. Bolton." Troy heard her voice trail off as the door shut.

He could still remember what his father had told him the summwr they buillt the tree house. This was Troy's safe place. His private world his parents would never go because they would know he wanted to be alone. His father and he had spent a few nights together here when he was growing up. This was where his father had taught him the importance of hearing your own thoughts when he might be feeling lost or confused. Just like he was now.

As he took a deep breath of the cool, calming morning breeze, he found himelf staring into the childhood memories he had stashed away in the house. A picture of him in action at one of the many basketball camps he attended, Chad and him hoisting up their first ever team basketball trophy during the inter-grade sportfest, him being awarded the most promising athlete trophy when he was in the 3rd grade, and a picture he had completely forgotten existed till now. There he stood on a stage, dressed in a Peter Pan costume and standing next to him, their hands tightly holding on to each otheras they sang their little hearts out to _You Can Fly_ , was Sharpay dressed as Wendy. What grade where they in? A memory from a forgotten past now consumed his thoughts...

_"Cmon Troy... let's just try. Everyone else is trying out for the play." a miniature version of Sharpay was dragging a protesting little Troy up the auditorium steps._

_"My dad said bball players don't do school musicals!" he tried to wrestle free of her grasp but only ended up following her up the steps to avoid tripping on her._

_"That is so not true!" she continued to pull him up the steps with all her little might. "Singing helps you improve your breathing. How could bball players not want to sing?"_

_"Why don't you torture Ryan intead? He's your twin, not me!" they finally reached the sign up sheet where he watched resignedly as she listed their names for the pairs audition. _

_"Ryan doesn't like singing. He just likes the dancing stuff." She hoisted him by the armpits when he broke free of her hold and sat on the steps rigidly. Hoping she would just give up and leave him alone._

_He fretted in his seat as they watched pair after pair of young hopefuls sing their hearts out only to have a then young Ms. Darbus tell them where exactly they should be singing, and she rarely suggested they sing in public. _

_" I can't do this Shar. I can't sing." he whispered to her as another pair were told to go join the circus where they might have a future as wet weather chanters._

_"Sure you can Troy. I've heard you. You've got a gift. Just like me." she assured him by placing her arm around him._

_"You've had lessons..."_

_"And you've sat in on almost all of them and helped me warm up before lessons. We can do this Troy. We can do it together."_

_"Evans, Bolton onstage!" Ms Darbus called as she marked her long list. She shook her head a bit in order to get the other sounds out of her head. It was turning into a long afternoon and she had yet to find her Wendy and Peter Pan._

_"Just hold my hand Troy. It's just you and me. No one else. Sing for me just as I will sing for you." Their hands locked in a supportive hold._

_"Never let me go Shar." He begged her silently as the first bars of A Whole New World began to play on the piano._

_"Never hold on to me. I'll always have your back."_

He did not realize that he had fallen asleep holding the picture frame. A smile crossed his face as he came to a new realization, Sharpay was the one who helped him find his voice. Sharpay was the first person who had believed in him. Sharpay was his girl. His girl... When did they grow apart? Why did he have his urge to reconnect with her?


	6. A Chance Encounter

**Chapter ****5: A Chance Encounter**

The rest of the Wildcats were waiting at the local Squeak shop hoping that Gabriela would walk with Troy on her arm. Their crestfallen look said it all when she finally joined them.

"He can't keep shutting us out. We're his friends. He needs us." Chad was hurting the most among all of them. He knew that he would carry the guilt of that night with him for the rest of his life and it killed him that he was too much of a wuss to walk up to his best friend and his father to apologize.

"I guess it's only natural for him to be withdrawn. His father is a cripple now and their family life is in shambles. He needs to think this through." Taylor tried to psycho-analyze the situation as usual. As far as Taylor was concerned, there was no human action that could not be explained by either the law or science.

"There's a glee competition at the Lava Springs Country Club. Maybe we should join. It's open to non-members It might help." Kelsie volunteered. "What? Music is said to have healing powers." She explained to Chad who had a "you have got to be kidding" look on his face.

"Soda's and chips!" Zeke announced as they made space for him at the table. " Where's Troy? I thought you picked him up?"

"Troy isn't ready to be with anybody but himself right now." Gabriela sucked hard on her soda straw to prevent her tears from escaping.

"On the lighter side, have you all got jobs for the summer yet? Point me in the right direction if you've got any leads. I'm saving up for a van." By changing the topic, Chad hoped to lighten the otherwise gloomy mood of the gang.

Troy knew that his father would have to come home sometime. He knew that everything would be different for them. Without his father's income to help augment the family income, the bills piled up faster than any of them expected. Things finally came to a head when his mother informed him that they needed to trade in the family car for a specially outfitted van for his father. Topped with the latest demand letter from the local bank reminding them to pay up or move out.

"Mom, you have to let me help out already. I am better now. I can work. We don't have any other choice." He explained as he drove them to the hospital to finally bring home the man of the house.

Lisa continued to look out the car window. Oblivious to her son's statement. The weight of the pat month's problem not only weighed her down but also showed physically. Gone was the vibrant young mother who had a promising star athlete son. In her place was this tired looking , gaunt, and pale woman who looked far older than her actual age.

"Mom, are you even listening to me?" Troy asked upon realizing that his mother was not paying attention. He turned into the hospital parking lot, parked and finally nudged his mother out of her stupor.

"Yes Troy. I heard everything." She fumbled with the seatbelt before continuing. "Listen son, I'll go with whatever your dad decides. If he says you can, then that's that."

He saw them alighting from the car form his hospital room window. Lisa and his son, both looking grim and serious. Almost as if they had just ocme out of an argument. Did their look have anything to do with the fact that they were bringing him home? Jack was not really looking forward to going home. Not if he wasn't walking. Not if he was barely a man and incapable of performing his duties as a husband, father, and coach. The nurse aide helped him get dressed and ready for his big family reunion. A reunion he dreaded instead. He was going home in that blasted wheel chair! He could no longer do the one other thing that he lived to do - play and coach basketball. Damn those Wildcats! Why didn't they listen? This was all their fault! This was Chad's fault, and Zeke's fault, and Troy... Was Troy at fault in any of this? Could he really blame his son for a situation neither of them could control?

Troy quickly rapped on the door before opening it. He was dressed in his letterman jacket and had a warm and smiling face when he saw his father. He felt his heart shatter as the reality of his father's condition finally set in. Seeing him strapped into his wheelchair to make sure he did not slip out of it while the breathing device that allowed him to control the wheelchair stood directly over his father's mouth made him feel a different kind of pain. This was something worse that the pain and trauma that the incident caused. The loving son in him could have sworn that he felt his heart being stabbed at that very moment. There was a wretching feeling creeping up on him which he had to force down. Could it have been his guilty conscience reacting? His guilt at not being able to control the team when it was really necessary?

"Dad, are you ready?" He asked as Jack used the chairs head control and tilt in order to swing his chair around to face his son. He had been using the chair, a "gift" from the hospital for about 4 days already and was really getting the hang of using it. He hoped that his face was not betraying his emotions at that very minute. The last thing he wanted to do was add more stress to their already difficult situation.

He forced the corner of his lips into a smile and tried to muster a jolly voice as possible for his son and wife who had just entered the room. "I am so glad to see both of you." he lied. "I can't wait to finally get into my own bed at home."

The mother and son team seemed to be tip toeing around Jack's situation and tried to pretend that everything was normal. The small talk aeound the dinner table centered around safe topics like the latest NBA scores and Lisa finally going back to work. The mealtime was most difficult or Jack who had to be spoon fed by Lisa like a child. With each passing hour with his family, Jack was feeling more and more useless and

"I would like to try and get a work from home assignment though." she informed them between forkfuls of meatloaf. "At this point, we can't afford to get your a caregiver. We can already missed 2 mortgage payments as it is." she tried not to sound worried but knew that she had failed.

He felt a lump in his throat. He was still trying to come to terms with being a quadriplegic and now he would also have to learn to live with being a burden to his wife and very young son. In his mind, Troy was too young to become the head of this family. Jack Bolton never wanted his boy to grow up and become an adult so soon. No, Troy was not ready for that kind of responsibility, he was barely out of his short pants! But what could he do?

Jack saw Troy's body tense up at the mention of the missed payments. He knew his son well enough to know that this young man had a gameplan in his head. All he had to do was coax it out of him.

He wheeled his father out to the backyard so he could watch him shoot some hoops. If things were normal, his father would be on the court with him. Telling him to extend his shooting arm, watch his back, protect the ball. Instead, he sat in that chair with his eyes closed. Jack listened to the rythm of the dribbling, it seemed to have a calming effect on him. For a few moments, he was able to imagine being out on the court with Troy and stealing the ball, launching himself into the air and snapping the ball into the hoop.

"Dad, are you awake?" Troy asked as he released a 3-pointer into the basket. Maybe the stress of coming home was just too much for him.

"Yeah son. I was just reliving a moment there." he shook himself out of his nostalgia and turned the chair around. "I should go to bed."

Troy dropped the ball and hurried to help his father get up the stairs. This required him to lift his old man out of the chair and carry him up to his room and into his bed. TYroy wondered if his father was getting lighter or if he was getting stronger as he hoisted him out of the chair without any effort.

"Take a seat son, I want to talk to you." He instructed while he was being tucked into the hospital bed. He was not sleeping next to Lisa anymore due to his medical needs. In fact, their bedroom looked a lot more like his hospital room transported than anything else.

Lisa had poured herself some hot cocoa and seated herself on the swing on their patio. It has been a long and hard first day back for everyone. She felt her tears start streaming down her cheeks as she sat there motionless. What was her family coming to? Bills, mortages, insurance premiums, home care - her head was ready to explode!

"Mom?" she heard her son's voice carry through the open front door.

"Out here son."

He sat next to his mother on the swing and lay his head on her shoulder. The way he used to as a child who needed her comforting. She wrapped him in her arms and gave him a kiss on the forehead. She wondered why he did not wince the way he normally did after he discovered that he was the only boy in class who still let him mom kiss him at the school drop off point.

"Dad said yes." he sounded scared and uncertain.

"Yes to what honey?"

"I can work. He said I need to be the man of the house now." he closed his eyes as he spoke. He suddenly felt very tired.

"Rise and shine Sharpay! Lava Springs awaits!" Ryan dramatically threw open his sisters curtains to wake her up only to see that she was wearing eye shields. He drew a frustrated breath and walked over to her bedside.

"Boi, move over." he pushed the dog aside so he could sit beside his sister. "Pay Pay! Wakie wakie!" he whipped the shield off her eyes.

Sharpays arm immediately flew up and smacked Ryan in the face. "What time is it?" she asked, not caring that her hand hit Ryan's face hard enough for him to check his nose for blood.

"That hurt!" he complained.

"Oh! It's not like you can't have that deviated septum fixed again." she remarked nonchalantly as she picked up her pink house phone. "Breakfast in my room in 5 minutes. And no oatmeal. That's too messy." she sounded like she was calling room service instead of the household kitchen.

Summer activities usually officially began for the Ebvans twins the minute the pink convertible hit the well maintained driveway of Lava Springs, the resort type golf club that their family owned way out in the middle of the New Mexico desert. This summer, they would be arriving just in time to prepare for the talent show / glee competition that Sharpay had been winning with the Sharpettes, her back up singers since the contest began 10 years ago.

"Don't forget our music sheets Ryan. I don't want that band spending 2 days looking for the music sheets online again." Sharpay reminded while she chose her outfit for the day from her automated closet.

After a week of job searching, Troy still had not had any luck. He could not believe that the economy was really so bad that he could not even land a job flipping burgers at Fuddruckers. If the job hunt continued this way, he would have to expand his search outside the city limits. He needed to find a job soon, his mother signed an iou to get his dad out of the hospital and that would be maturing at the end of the month. Not to mention the back mortgage payments that needed to at least be partially paid around the same time. He wondered how his father dealt with all of the financial problems their family seemed to have. No wonder he quite often seemed tired and worn out.

It was the start of another day. Another day of job hunting. He glanced at his clock, 6:30. Was there another place in the city that he had not yet tried to hit for a job? He felt like he was drowning. He pulle dhimself out of bed and trudged into the shower to begin his day. Where else could Troy turn to for help? His friends? His friends who demanded that he always bend over to what they wanted to do? What they felt should be done without any regard for his opinion or sentiments? He was beginning to regret that he ever met Gabriela. If he never met her, he would never have tried out for the Spring musicale, they would not have needed to rig the scoreboards... all of the regrets in his life seem to be tied into Gabriela and the lack of respect from the circle of people he used to think of as his friends.

Troy got into his beat up pick up and prayed that it would start up. He was leaving without any breakfast and before his mother got up for work. Seeing his mother's weary face first thing in the morning would not help lift his spirits. He was going to try a different technique in his job search. Hopefully his clunker would hold up and make it to just outside the city limits where new developments were being erected. He was a strong and sprightly young man, maybe he could get a job at a construction site. He had heard about a new country club or something that had just recently opened, maybe he could be golf caddy or a busboy. He wasn't going to be picky. He just needed a job, any job.

_One singular sensation, every little step she takes  
One thrilling combination, every move that she makes  
One smile and suddenly nobody else will do  
You know you'll never be lonely with you-know-who_

One moment in her presence and you can forget the rest  
For the girl is second best to none, son  
Oooh! Sigh! Give her your attention  
Do I really have to mention she's the one

Sharpay and Ryan had heartily been singing tunes from A Chorus Line during the drive to the resort. They were right smack in the middle of singing her personal favorite song from the play title "One" when she spotted a familiar blue beat up pick up pulled up on the side of the road near the city limits exit point.

"Was that Troy?" she asked as she drove past the truck with a guys legs dangling from underneath the hood, it's radiator steaming.

Ryan adjusted the rearview mirror so he could look back to the truck. It did seem familiar to him. "Could be. Only Troy drives a heap of junk and dares to call it a pick up truck at school. Shar What the hell are you doing!" he shoutedas he grabbed onto the dashboard for dear life. He could swear his sister was a she-devil on the road when she wanted to be. The car tires screeched into a 180 degree turn with the driver's side stopping irght within speaking range of the guy's ass.

"Troooy is that you?" she sang out in an anticipatory tone.

The distraction was all that was necessary for Troy to put his right hand on the scaldingly hot radiator block. "Damn!" he screamed.

Sharpay was at his side in an instant. "Let me see it." she took his hand and turned it over. The skin on the hand seemed to be lifted. "Ry, petroleum jelly. In my make up kit."

Her brother practically threw the small jar out the car window. The sun was coming up and it was getting really hot. He wanted to get into the shade already.

"This will take care of it for now." she explained as she gently applied the gel onto the damaged skin. If she was not so concentrated on her task, she would have seen the smile that Troy was trying to hide as her mere touch seemed to make all his stress and problems disappear.

"Thank you Sharpay."

"We'll give you a ride back into the city." she offered after she had patched him up to her satisfaction. "Ry, scoot over and let Troy sit next to me."

"Shar, it's getting hot and late." he whined at his sister's lack of responsibility towards him.

"I'll put the roof up. We can't leave him stranded here." she motioned for Troy to get in.

"What were you doing out here in the first place?" Ryan asked in frustration. He was disappointed at not being able to take a dip in the pool yet and was doing everything in his power to continue to follow his sister's whims.

"Looking for a job." Troy answered sheepishly. Admitting that his family was in trouble was the last thing he wanted the richest kids at school to ever find out.


	7. A Wildcat Summer

**Chapter 6: A Wildcat Summer**

"Thanks for the ride Sharpay, Ryan." Troy smiled at the siblings and gave Ryan a quick salute after he had jumped out of the top down car. They had dropped him off at the junkyard where Troy knew somebody who could tow his car over. He would have to find a new radiator cap and hose before he could get back on the road.

"Toodles Troy!" Sharpay waved her fingers at him before driving the car away. She drove like a bat out of hell as soon as she cleared the junkyard.

"Sharpay! Our birthday is in 2 months and I really want to live to drive the Ferrari that dad promised me!" Ryan wished that his parents had gotten Sharpay a sensible car, one that came with a permanent roof and handle bars on the interior roof area. He had the impresison that his sister was out to break the sound barrier at the speed she was driving at.

"No time to waste Ryan! We have to get to the resort as soon as possible." her lead foot finally floored the gas pedal. If there had been a radar equipped patrol car nearby, she would have been sure to get her license confiscated.

"Driving like a crazed maniac won't get us there any faster!" he protested as he grabbed onto the sides of his seat as he said a silent prayer.

The concentrated expression on his sisters face told him that it would be of no use talking to her. He could only hazard a guess as to what devious plan she was once again hatching in her mind. What would she have him do next he wondered? Whatever it was, the only thing he was sure of was that it involved Troy and the story he told while they were driving back into the city.

"Ryan, do you know what would make this summer fabulously perfect for me?" she slowed down as they came to the highway entrance ramp.

"Mother hiring Dolce & Gabanna to design you and exclusive summer line?" he knew Sharpay never liked buying anything off the rack even from the most exclusive of fashion houses. She always had the designers create a one of a kind personal line for her as the seasons changed. Her business alone was enough to keep major favorite fashion houses busy for at least half a year.

"Yes.. no!" she smacked him on the upside of his head as they finally approached the exclusive rhigh way road that lead to Lava Springs. "Think closer to home. What is the one thing that I have always wanted but never had?"

He scrunched his brows together and tried to think of something in their whole lives that Sharpay never had. Their parents had never let them want for anything. They led such priveledged lives that each possible want or whim was already anticipated by their parents so that having to ask for or work for anything did not become a part of their vocabulary. No, as far as Ryan was concerned, there was nothing that his sister had ever wanted but never had.

She let out an exaggerated sigh. Ryan had always been the dense one. This was something she would have to point out to him again. Even though it was pretty obvious what it is that she wanted.

"Troy! I have always wanted Troy!" she shouted as she turned onto the well manicured winding driveway of the resort.

"Oh!" Bolton... okay. I see..." no he didn't but he would say anything to make his sister stop shouting at him.

They stepped out of the car as the individual doors were opened for them by the valets. The staff imeddiately got busy emptying the car of their bags and sports equipment while their welcome drinks were hurriedly brought to their sides.

"Let's go see Mr. Fulton." she walked ahead of Ryan who followed her like a helpless little puppy.

A man in his late forties was sitting nervously behind his large oak desk. The sweat on his brow could fall onto his glasses anytime but it did not seem to bother him. He actually felt like his glasses had already fogged up from the minute he was told by the front desk that the Evans twins had finally arrived. He could hear Sharpay's voice right outside his door. That was enough to send him diving into his desk drawer for the almost emptied bottle of antacid. Having worked at almost all of the Evan's resorts across the New Mexico area, he had been on the receiving end of Sharpay's acid tongue ever since she was old enough to understand the meaning of the word no.

"Good lord, what doe sshe wants now?" he thought to himself as he roleld his eyes in preparation for what he knew would be another long summer with the Evans children in his care. She sounded excited. That must be a good sign right?"

"Mr. Fulton!" she announced her presence in such a manner that he would have no choice but give her his full attention.

"Sharpay, Ryan... how wonderful it is to see you again. I trust the staff was well advised of your needs upon arrival?" He tried some small talk with her just so his antacid would have a little more time to work its magic.

"Hi Mr. Fulton." Ryan beamed at the man whom he knew was just as put upon as he was by his sister.

"No time for smalltalk. I want you to hire Troy Bolton for me." Sharpay threw a look at Ryan that told him she did not have the patience to listen to them about what she considered nonsense.

"I'lll certainly consider that Sharpay. Now what's his name again?" he took a pen and paper from his desk organizer.

"You won't consider it. You will hire him no matter what it takes. His name is Troy Bolton and his phone number is..." it suddenly dawned upon her that she did not even have his cellphone number. "His father is Jack Bolton. They are listed. If they aren't then you will just have to trace him."

"Does Vance know..." Fulton referred to her father by his first name since they were high school buddies.

"You let me worry about my dad. Just do what I am telling you do to." grabbing the pen, she wrote down Troy's name for him before turning on her heels out the door. "Ryan!" he scurried on after her.

Fulton took a deep breath and sighed "I love my job, I need my job, I love my job, I need my job..." he chanted while he popped 2 more antacids into his mouth. This was going to be a very long summer.

Though Lava Springs was a family owned corporation, the main management of the business fell upon Mrs. Evans' shoulders since she was the one who wanted to build the spa-resort where her family could spend their summers bonding since they rarely saw each other during the regular school year of the kids. Each summer, she would arrive first in order to make sure that their private family villa would be ready to for the family. Being the busy career woman that she is, she also took the alone time to have some self pampering time. Basking in the relaxing New Mexico summer sun, enjoying the various relaxing therapies available, and of course, getting her muscles streched by doing Yoga exercises with a private trainer. This summer would be no different. She was enjoying a green tea massage when Mr. Fulton called in to request for an emergency audience with her. He sat uncomfortably on the floor as the masseus lightly massaged the green tea paste into her back area.

"What does my daughter want this time?" she could not believe that she had forgotten to prepare something for Sharpay. Whatever it was, it did not normally require Fulton coming to her for clearance anyway. He had carte blanche to do anything that the children asked for.

"She wants me to hire some boy named Troy Bolton. Ryan tells me he is from their school and your daughter has been crushing on him since they were little." he explained. "I need to know if you will authorize such a hiring."

"My little girl admires a boy..." she was thrilled at the thought of watching her daughter enjoy a summer love. "Sure, go ahead and hire him."

That was enough for Fulton. He was just about to struggle to his feet when she stopped him. "Don't hire just Troy. Talk to Ryan. Ask him for a list of names. The people they normally mingle with in school. I think this would be a wonderful time to meet their classmates." she further instructed.

"As you wish."

Troy was ecstatic at the phone call he received from Lava Springs. Fulton had hired him in the guise of a referral from their school. He was hired because of his athletic ability that would definitely come in handy when dealing with the clients of the resort. Needless to say, he accepted the offer on the spot, he did not even consult his mother for approval.

"Mom!" he came running out of the house to the small patch garden that his mother tended to every weekend. "I got a job! They called me! I start on Monday!"

Lisa gave her son a hopeful smile. Time was fast running out on their mortgage deadline. She could only hope that he could earn an amount that would help at least close the gap on what they were expected to pay by the end of the month or they risked losing the house.

Lisa and Jack agreed to lend Troy his father's car for the summer. If he was going to work that far out of the city, he needed a reliable car and his truck was barely wheezing its way around town, no way it would make such a far daily trip.

He was very excited about his first day at work. He was not really sure about what his job description was. Being so happy that the work dound him instead of the other way around, he did not ask any questions just in case that would jinx his luck.

He blinked twice as he drove through the garden area of the driveway. He could swear he saw a familiar curly haired figure that could have only belonged to Chad. In fact, he seemed to be seeing a lot of his classmates as he drove along. Could they have been hired there too? It would have just been his rotten luck if they were.

Sharpay was enjoying a non acoholic pinacolada while lounging by the poolside where Ryan was also playing showtunes on the grand piano. Her vacation was just beginning and she was already looking forward to spending a lot of quality time with Troy. She sighed in contentment at the thought of the the things they would do without Gabriela and that basketball team in the way. Yes, she would finally have Troy Bolton all to herself, at least for the summer.

"Hi Troy!" She heard Ryan holler. He stopped playing and stood up to approach his classmate in a welcome gesture.

That was enough for Sharpay to jump out of her skin. Luckily, Sharpay was always picture perfect and ready to meet her adoring fans, or in this case, the man she adored. But she lost her balance as she tried to walk in stiletto heels across an already wet pavement.

"Eeek!" she screamed a she fell into the pool. She heard a splash soon after. Images of Troy jumping into the pool to save her overcame her. "Troy, I can't swim!"

"I've got you." A familiar female voice shattered her day dream. "What are you doing here!" she demanded.

"I'm the lifeguard for the summer." Gabriela explained as they treaded towards the shallow end of the pool.

Troy's hand was already extended by the time she got to the ledge. He grabbed a nearby towel and wrapped Sharpay in it while Gabriela struggled out of the pool. Ryan handed her a towel for drying off.

"What are you doing here? Are you a member?" Troy asked a shivering Sharpay.

The next thing Sharpay knew, they were surrounded by the rest of the East High posse. A sudden faintness overcame her before she blacked out.

"I told you to hire Troy Bolton, not the entire East High School!" she fumed at Mr. Fulton who was standing at the foot her bed in the infirmary.

"You said to hire Troy Bolton at any cost." he tried to calmly remind her.

"You could have at least warned me." she snarled in between sips of hot chamomile tea.

"Well, I did consult with the board of directors..."

"You mean my mother authorized this?"

"Mother! Why do you want to ruin my life?" Sharpay was short of physically attacking her mother after she had gotten out of the infirmary. Mrs. Evans was currenlty in yet another Yoga class.

"What do you mean dear?" she asked while she held her lotus position.

"I wanted Troy! Not the entire school!"

"They are your classmates Sharpay, your peers, not your will be fun to have them around. You'll see."

"How do you know that!" she stormed out of the room before her mother could explain further.


End file.
